


Excerpt from the Memoirs of Code-8, Guardian of the Last City

by Cogsbreak



Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Post-Game(s), Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-24
Updated: 2018-03-24
Packaged: 2019-04-07 07:41:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14076105
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cogsbreak/pseuds/Cogsbreak
Summary: "You came aboard my Leviathan. You passed all the tests I set before you. Now, oh Guardian mine, I make you an offer..."





	Excerpt from the Memoirs of Code-8, Guardian of the Last City

**Author's Note:**

> This is one of those "the canon technically allows it but it's so improbable that it will never happen" things. The lore for the Prestige armor has the Emperor offering the player Guardian the position Ghaul had... so I wondered just what it would look like if you could accept.
> 
> With certain caveats, of course. They're still a Guardian. The City is still their home. They have a duty.

_I have returned to the Leviathan by invitation of the Emperor Calus._

_Alone._

_My fireteam would be livid at me walking into the belly of the beast without them to back me up, especially Patch-2._

_But I am a warlock. I know of hidden powers; of secrets and great secrets, and the greatest secrets of all, the secrets in plain sight._

_I am a warlock. I must seek and question; it is what I am, as titans must charge into battle and hunters strike with the unseen dagger._

_A secret is this: that we are the mirror of the Hive, and their great Gods themselves. Oryx, who had must inquire and seek answers before his death; Xivu Arath, who must always fight and test her strength; and_ _Savath_ _û_ _n who must always scheme and be cunning._

_And a great secret is this: that we are tools of Light and they are of Darkness, both crafted to war against each other, and that despite how the Traveler hates it we, too, are of the Darkness' Sword Logic, fighting and clashing to see which deserves to survive._

_And one of the greatest secrets is this: it does not matter which of us is the reflection, Guardians and Hive, for we are champions of our cause, and the Darkness chooses an army but the Traveler chooses warriors, and whichever was made first was the cause of the second, and the second's birth was the goad that lead to the creation of the first, for the Light and Darkness are paracausal and what is time to ones such as they?_

_We are of Light, and they of Dark, and we must make war, for at the end only one can stand triumphant._

_I stand in the Royal Audience room, draped in the cloth of gold armor the Emperor was kind enough to bestow upon my fireteam for besting his tests, save for my own helm._

_It is something in this realm that is_ not _his, and though the external plating has been altered to match his generous gifts, it is still a symbol that my thoughts, my will are my own._

_And in this place, such symbols are all the more important._

_The Emperor shifts on his dias. I know it's another of his robotic duplicates, but there is the chance, however infinitesimal, that it is Calus himself._

_Unlikely, but possible. And he knows that I know this, and it is enough for both of us._

“ _Well, Warlock? What of my offer?”_

_Calus reclines in the same location his robotic double occupied earlier, holding aloft the same goblet containing the same wine._

“ _It is a generous one,” I begin, stroking a finger along the right horn of my helm, a habit I've never quite managed to break whenever I think. The Emperor chuckles as he repositions himself to what I assume is a more comfortable position on his platform._

“ _Promotion to Primus of the Red Legion is a touch unorthodox, as is elevating you to one of my councilors, but you've proven yourself powerful and capable. And don't worry about the rest of your group - I am not so cruel as to reward one but not the others for the help they've given me.”_

 _My Ghost is silent. I could claim it to be the opulence - the_ gaudiness _\- of the surrounding room to have stricken him silent, but I know better. My Ghost is afraid. Not of Calus, but of me and for me. Afraid of what the offer means, and the great temptation of it._

_An entire Legion at my command. The ear of the Cabal Emperor, to advise and guide._

_The Last City would never need fear being overrun again. I would have the ability to guard it from all threats and the freedom to seek my own questions and my own answers, beholden only to Calus and the Traveler._

_There is so much that I could do, could be, as Primus._

_There is nothing that could stop me._

“ _No.”_

“ _No?” Calus moves again, sitting upright and leaning forward, his blubbery jowls quivering as he frowns. “You'd dare to anger me by spitting on my hospitality?” A part of me makes note once more of his facial structure, and wonders what path lead to a race with exposed gums and tripartite lips. Such is my nature, to question, even when the time is not right._

“ _No,” I say again, choosing my words carefully, as my Ghost trembles slightly in the air, a mix of relief and a new fear, that neither of us will leave. “I cannot accept - not because I do not wish to, but because I already am sworn to the City and the Traveler. I would not be forsworn to them, become an oathbreaker once, for having done so once, why should you trust me not to do so again?” I must be careful, so very careful, for while Calus seems lazy and self-indulgent, he is still a dangerous foe when roused._

_The Emperor relaxes, slightly, and nods once more, a faint laugh escaping him. “A good point, and a fair one. Well enough, Warlock... but should you ever reconsider, my offer stands...” He pauses, takes a swallow of his Royal Wine, and swirls the remnants in his goblet. “Though, if you take too long, you might have to fight whoever I choose as Ghaul's successor for the post.”_

_I bow, respectfully, and his guards escort me from the room to my ship. Perhaps I shall make the bargain..._

_But not now._

 

 **\- From the private library of Emperor Calus' Grand Leviathan,** _**Guardian of the Last City; Primus of the Last Legion, the Emperor's Finest: Code-8 Immortales.** _


End file.
